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The eleventh season of American
talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...
competition series '' America's Got Talent'' was broadcast on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
from May 31 to September 11, 2016. Following the previous season,
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...
left the program and was replaced as a judge by the ''
Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. It has spawned spin-offs in over 69 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Fremantle ...
'' creator,
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...
. Stern's departure removed the contractual condition he had imposed for his involvement, leading to moving live round productions to the Dolby Theatre in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. While open auditions were held in multiple cities, the judges' auditions were filmed within the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California. It consists of three buildings. Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was built in 1931 ...
in Pasadena, California, an arrangement that would persist in future seasons. Along with these change, the "Golden Buzzer" format was adjusted, and a planned break was made in the season's broadcast schedule between August 2–23 to avoid clashing with the network's live coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The guest judges for this season's Judge Cuts stage included
George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. Lopez has rece ...
, Reba McEntire,
Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...
and Louis Tomlinson. The eleventh season was won by singer and ukuleleist
Grace VanderWaal Grace Avery VanderWaal (born January 15, 2004) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her distinctive vocals and has often accompanied herself on the ukulele. VanderWaal began her musical career by posting videos of her ...
, with mentalist duo
The Clairvoyants The Clairvoyants (Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass) are an Austrian magician and mentalist duo. The two of them have been performing together since 2011. They finished runner-up to Grace VanderWaal on America's Got Talent (season 11), season 11 o ...
finishing second, and magician Jon Dorenbos placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 11.44 million viewers. The eleventh season became prominent in the program's history for broadcasting a stunt on live television that went wrong, and almost resulted in the death of its performer.


Season overview

Open auditions for the eleventh season began in late 2015 and were held within
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, New York City,
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
,
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
,
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, San Jose,
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, Kansas City, Los Angeles,
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
, and
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. Online auditions were also accepted. Unlike previous years which had used multiple venues, sessions of the judges' auditions were held at a fixed venue, taking place around March 2016 at the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California. It consists of three buildings. Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was built in 1931 ...
in Pasadena, California. This arrangement for auditions was continued in later seasons of the show. Actor
George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. Lopez has rece ...
, singer and actress Reba McEntire, singer
Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...
and singer Louis Tomlinson were guest judges in the Judge Cuts stage of the competition. Before the tenth season aired,
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...
announced it would be his last season on ''AGT'' during his radio show, as his work schedule in the coming year would make him unable to remain committed to performing as a judge. His announcement led to a replacement for the next season, after NBC renewed the program for another year. ''AGT'' creator,
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...
, replaced Stern for the upcoming season. Cowell continued with his role of ''
Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...
'' in the same year. Due to Stern's departure, the live rounds were no longer restricted to being held within New York at Radio City Music Hall. The live rounds for the new season would be brought back to Los Angeles, and held within the Dolby Theatre. Other than the change in venue, the "Golden Buzzer" could be used by the host, although only in the first stage of auditions (not during the Judge Cuts). Taking the 2016 Summer Olympics into account (which received coverage by the network), the season included not only a break between August 9–17, but also included two episodes of the Judge Cuts within two weeks to ensure the hiatus took place. Of the participants who auditioned for this season, thirty-six secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists in each one. Among these included: opera singer Laura Bretan, singer and ukuleleist
Grace VanderWaal Grace Avery VanderWaal (born January 15, 2004) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her distinctive vocals and has often accompanied herself on the ukulele. VanderWaal began her musical career by posting videos of her ...
, jazz singer Sal Valentinetti, singer Calysta Bevier and burlesque dancer Dorothy Williams, who had each received a golden buzzer from the main judges and host; magician Jon Dorenbos, contortionist and aerialist Sofie Dossi, malambo group Malevo and singer Jayna Brown, who had each received a golden buzzer from the guest judges; dance group Flip, video-mapping dance duo Sila Sveta and magician Steven Brundage, who were chosen as Wildcard quarter-finalists. About twenty-two quarter-finalists advanced and split between the two semi-finals, including juggling duo The Passing Zone (chosen as the Wildcard semi-finalist), with ten semi-finalists securing a place in the finals. These are the results of each participant's overall performance during the season: : , , , , : , Wildcard Quarter-finalist , Wildcard Semi-finalist : Golden Buzzer - Auditions , Golden Buzzer - Judge Cuts * Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this season.


Quarter-finals summary

: Buzzed Out , Judges' choice , : , ,


Quarter-final 1 (July 26)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Mat Franco, and
Paul Zerdin Paul Zerdin (born 21 August 1972) is a British comedian and ventriloquist from London. He was the winner of the 10th season of '' America's Got Talent''. Early life When Zerdin was 10, a family friend made him a puppet theatre which he use ...
* During the Results show, Deadly Games' picture was portrayed as Daniel Joyner during the Online Public Vote segment; it was later corrected.


Quarter-final 2 (August 2)

Guest Performers, Results Show:
Fitz and the Tantrums Fitz and the Tantrums are an American indie pop and neo soul band from Los Angeles, California, that formed in 2008. The band consists of Michael Fitzpatrick (lead vocals), Noelle Scaggs (co-lead vocals and percussion), James King (saxophone, ...
featuring Team iLuminate


Quarter-final 3 (August 23)

Guest Performers, Results Show:
Recycled Percussion Recycled Percussion is a Laconia, New Hampshire-based band. The group was originally formed in Goffstown, New Hampshire. History Justin Spencer formed Recycled Percussion in 1995 for a high school talent show. Spencer, looking to be more creativ ...
, and
Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...
* The Passing Zone were later appointed as the judges' WildCard semi-finalists.


Semi-finals summary

: Buzzed Out , Judges' choice , : , ,


Semi-final 1 (August 30)

Guest Performers, Results Show:
The Illusionists The Illusionists is a touring magic production which features a rotating cast of 5 to 8 magicians who all specialise in specific branches of magic from stage illusions to mind reading to escapology and comedic magic. Scheck, Fran"'The Illusionists ...


Semi-final 2 (September 6)

Guest Performers, Results Show:
Andra Day Andra may refer to: People * Andra (singer) (born 1986), Romanian singer * Andra (musician), Zimbabwean-American musician * Andra Karpin (born 1979), Estonian footballer * Andra Neiburga (1957–2019), Latvian writer * Andra Day (born 1984), Am ...
, and Blue Journey


Finals (September 13–14)

Guest Performers, Finale:
Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...
,
LunchMoney Lewis Gamal Kosh Lewis (born January 11, 1988), better known as LunchMoney Lewis, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 2015 single " Bills", which topped the charts in Australia and peaked within t ...
: , , , * Sofie Dossi, Laura Bretan and Viktor Kee conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performers. * The Clairvoyants and Jon Dorenbos conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performers. * Tape Face also involved a number of the other finalists as part of his second performance.


Ratings

The following ratings are based upon those published by
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
after this season's broadcast: Specials


Incidents

Accidents are uncommon across the ''
Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. It has spawned spin-offs in over 69 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Fremantle ...
'' franchise, but most are usually attributed towards performances that involve highly dangerous stunts and routines. As a matter of principle, production staff often engage a set of necessary precautions for any such routine that will be shown on live television, which can include having paramedics on standby, conducting the performance at another venue, or pre-recording the routine before it is due to be aired for an episode. However, staff on the eleventh season opted to allow for a dangerous stunt to be broadcast live to American viewers, performed by carnival daredevil Ryan Stock, which nearly became a fatal accident when a piece of equipment malfunctioned and nearly impaled the performer's throat with a crossbow bolt. Although he suffered no injuries, production staff were left to question why the performance had been allowed to take place, and altered all footage of the scene for online viewing as a direct result.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:America's Got Talent (Season 11) 2016 American television seasons America's Got Talent seasons